Please join me and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in supporting H.R. 1243, the Battlefield Excellence through Superior Training (BEST) Practices Act, legislation that would end the use of live animals in battlefield training
simulations.

In May 2017, the Defense Health Agency (DHA) published two studies critiquing the use of animals in trauma training exercises at the Department of Defense (DOD). The reports found that this practice is, without a doubt, “outdated and cost-prohibitive,” and
does not provide trainees with accurate anatomical representations of human trauma victims. Join me in ending this inhumane and ineffective practice by becoming a cosponsor of H.R. 1243, the Battlefield Excellence through Superior Training (BEST) Practices
Act.

Training programs at the DOD use animals like pigs and goats to simulate live battlefield scenarios. Service members training to be trauma surgeons use anesthetized or unconscious animals to practice medical and surgical procedures. Although 98 percent of
civilian trauma training programs agree that the use of animals is not necessary, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine claims that the U.S. military uses over 8,500 animals each year.

The BEST Practices Act would phase out the use of live animals for combat medical training and replace them with technologically advanced human simulators. These non-animal training tools have been proven to be more effective, cheaper and more humane than
their alternative. If enacted, the BEST Practices Act would save taxpayer dollars by streamlining trauma training programs to include reusable simulators that better represent our technological capabilities. Live animal training methods would be phased out
by October 1, 2022. There is no reason to continue harming animals at a higher cost when the efficacy of using animals versus humans has been disproven.

If you have any questions or would like to co-sponsor this important piece of legislation, please contact Caroline Hunsicker in my office at caroline.hunsicker@mail.house.gov.